Christine Sinclair announces retirement from professional football at the end of the NWSL season

The 41-year-old Sinclair retired from the Canadian national team last year, finishing her international career as the world’s top goal scorer among women and men with 190 goals.

FILE - Portland Thorns FC midfielder Christine Sinclair (12) controls the ball during an NWSL soccer match against NJ/NY Gotham FC in Portland, Ore., March 24, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP

Christine Sinclair, one of the founding players for the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League, announced Friday that she is retiring from the game.

Sinclair will finish the season with the Thorns, which plans to honour her before the final regular-season home game on November 1.

The 41-year-old Sinclair retired from the Canadian national team last year, finishing her international career as the world’s top goal scorer among women and men with 190 goals.

Sinclair is among just three active players in the NWSL who have played for the same team since the league launched in 2013.

She announced her retirement on social media.

“For the last 11 years, it has been an honour to be part of the Portland Thorns organization. The club that showed the world what is possible when women’s sports are invested in,” she wrote. “As I finish out this last ride, I want to say what a privilege it has been to represent this unique, beautiful and passionate city that I will always call home.”

Sinclair also wrote that she plans to continue “growing the game that I love while inspiring the next generation.”

She helped the Thorns win the inaugural NWSL championship before adding additional titles in 2017 and 2022. She scored Portland’s first-ever goal in a match against FC Kansas City on April 13, 2013.

She has scored a club-record 64 regular-season goals with the team, ranking her third all-time in the league. She has played in a Portland-record 195 games, including 176 starts.

She has 79 goals across all competitions with the Thorns.

With the Canadian national team, Sinclair won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She earned bronze medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Games.

She is also among just five players to appear in six Women’s World Cups, and one of just three players to score in five. But a World Cup trophy eluded her.

Sinclair, who is from Burnaby, British Columbia, near Vancouver, also won NCAA championships with the University of Portland in 2002 and 2005.